In many parts of the country , slugs and snails are the springtime scourge of the nurseryman ’s existence . There are few thing worse than waking up in the morning to go fit on your garden only to find slimy , glint trails that lead to devastated plant .
Slugs and snail leave goop trails as they fawn , which serve to both lube their movement and tell every other escargot in the area that there ’s a feast to be had if you go this fashion . What ’s worse is that snails and slugs are hermaphrodite , and quickly create whole brood of new snails .
These little critter are ravening eaters and can decimate a row of seedlings in a unmarried nighttime and wreak mayhem on the leaves of to the full grown plants , bring them to their knees . Getting rid of them or keep them out of your garden is a must .
Organic Slug and Snail Control Options
There are several constitutive options for punch and snail controller . Although these creature hate salt , so do your plants , so salting the area wo n’t work . What will work is creating a barrier of abrasive that will keep the escargot from cross into your garden . Organic , good for the garden things like George Sand , crush egg shells , diatomaceous earth , and bull are common and well - used snail barriers .
Another pick is to utilise traps to ensnare or kill the slugs and snails before they get to your garden .
Slug and Snail Traps
you could get or kill biff and snails with simple traps that pull and write them . Two thing to commend about these creepies : they do n’t have feet and they do n’t float . Since they move by laying down a carpeting of slime and skid over it , if you neutralize their slime , you stop the snail . So most slug traps comply this canonical principle : put up a fluid roadblock that keeps the escargot from puzzle across . A moat , if you will .
you may build them out of many dissimilar character of material . One pop ( and easy ) method acting is to cut soda bottles in half lengthwise to create troughs . Bury these as a molding around your favourite plants so that the brim is just above the soil . Fill with water supply nightly . These mime some commercial moat yap that can be purchased pre - made . Anything exchangeable to a sodium carbonate bottle in diameter ( about 4″ around ) will work in its stead , so long as it holds piss . So slice up PVC piping , old rainfall gutters , etc . can be used .
Another is to put a pie pan near the garden ( or several in strategic locating ) and fill them with beer . The poke and snail will be attracted to the beer , but wo n’t be able to get out . This , of course , renders the beer undrinkable , so use the bum material .
Finally , a vulgar and ( usually ) effective option is to place 2x4s around your garden standing on their edge . Staple tin foil to the control board to make a covering for the exterior . Most slugs , unless very magnanimous , will not be able-bodied to pass over this roadblock and snail will see it inconceivable .
you could also leave pie-eyed newspapers , simoleons leaves , or citrus rinds out overnight to play as distractions for the slug to keep them off your plant . Several storage - buy gob and lure option are also useable .
Preventative Measures
Watering in the dawn instead of the afternoon or evening will result the topsoil dry by fall . This keeps the relative humidity in the garden low overnight and most slugs and snail will not be attracted to the area .
Removing detritus such as unfinished compost , leave of absence and sess trimmed or pull , and similar thing that attract slug should be clean from the garden every day .
ultimately , you could incorporate industrial plant that slugs and escargot are repelled by into your garden . These include phlox , bellflower , hemerocallis , and mantha .
Want to learn more about slug and snail pest control?
condition out these resources : Slugs in Home Gardensfrom the University of Minnesota ExtensionSnails and Slugsfrom University of California IPM Program
